Desdemona Sands Light was a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

located on the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, at the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

to aid navigation of the

Columbia Bar The Columbia Bar, also frequently called the Graveyard of the Pacific, is a system of bar (landform), bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It is known as one of th ...

. It was built in 1901 or 1902 as a replacement for

Point Adams Light Point Adams Light was a lighthouse near the mouth of the Columbia River on the Oregon Coast of the United States. The lighthouse was designed by Paul J. Pelz, who also designed Point Adams's sister stations, Point Fermin Light in San Pedro, Calif ...

. The

Lightship Columbia United States lightship ''Columbia'' (WLV-604) is a Lightvessel, lightship located in Astoria, Oregon, Astoria, Oregon, United States of America. ''Columbia'' was formerly moored near the mouth of the Columbia River. History Commissioned in 1951, ...

kept station about offshore. Its design by Carl Leick is identical to that of Semiahmoo Harbor Light near Blaine, Washington, a -story dwelling built on a cluster of pilings in of water with a rooftop tower housing the light and a fog signal. It was one of the last U.S. wooden pile foundation lighthouses built. A cistern system collected fresh water. Only the lightkeeper was present; there was a small boat to reach the mainland, where the keeper's family lived. The light was electrified in 1934, eliminating the need for a keeper. It was removed and replaced after World War II by a minor aid on top of a pyramidal structure, which was replaced again in 1955. The light was removed in 1965. Desdemona Sands is a group of shoals formerly named Chinook Sands. In 1857, the bark ''Desdemona'' ran aground here and was destroyed.

References

External links

Scanned photo of Desdemona Sands Light
Lighthouses completed in 1902 Lighthouses in Oregon Oregon Coast Transportation buildings and structures in Clatsop County, Oregon {{Oregon-struct-stub

See also

References

External links